Jackie Lomax & The Undertakers
Format Details: Jewel Case
Release Date: 26 February 1996
Label: Big Beat
Packaging Type: Jewel Case
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 029667416320
Genres:
Description
The Undertakers are best remembered as the early '60s Liverpool combo whence came Jackie Lomax, he of the distinctive falsetto and Beatle/Apple-infamy (check the lengthy references to Jackie in the recent Anthology TV series). But the Undertakers themselves were a solid bunch of rockers in the best no-nonsense Merseyside tradition, and are long overdue for recognition. Hence Unearthed, the first full length compilaton of the group, which features their entire recorded output, including the rare US-only single I Fell In Love, and boasts a plethora of unissued cuts. Compiler Alec Palao recently chatted with Jackie about the Undertakers.(How did you come to join the band?) I was playing rhythm guitar in Dee & The Dynamites, doing pop stuff. Our drummer Bugs Pemberton left to join the Undertakers, and he told them, "If you're looking for another bass player, why don't you use this guy Jack?" They said, "Well does he play bass?" "No, but I'm sure he can!" So I got dragged into this scene where I got handed the bass, because the other bassist didn't pay for it, and I could make the payments. (And you ended up becoming the vocalist too!) The other singer was this crazy Irishman Jimmy McManus who drank too much and picked fights with the crowd, so we eventually kicked him out, and he picked fights with us! There were two other singers in the band, guitarist Geoff Nugent and sax player Brian Jones, but neither were lead vocalists. I fitted in right as the lead, that was just the way it was. The falsetto was the thing to do at the time, the way to do it.(The competition must have been fierce amongst groups on Merseyside.)There was a lot of rivalry, but no animosity. We were from Wallasey, only a mile away across the Mersey, but they could hate you in Liverpool for that. The first time the Beatles came back from Hamburg I saw Astrid with Stu. They were dressed alike, with the same hair cuts and with sunglasses on, and it was night-time! I thought, "Wow, these people look really cool." We designed drape jackets for ourselves that came down to the knees, like the western-type undertakers in the movies. But of course everyone said "Oh you're teddy boys"! (Even the band's name was somewhat controversial.) It was a punk name for the time. People kept saying the same thing over the years: "Well, what if someone's just lost their mother?" And I'm saying, "And they're coming to a dance? I'm sorry, if you can't see the humour in it, don't come!" What would happen on a TV show like Thank Your Lucky Stars, we'd go down to the studio and they'd have four coffins and five top hats, and they insisted on us doing this shit, which was cabaret to me. People would then be coming to shows to see the top hats. (Got any good Star Club stories?) We were going to Hamburg on a regular basis from July 1962 onwards. The Reeperbahn was 24 hour madness. The guy who owned the Star Club didn't pay the police off one month, so the commissioner sent down fourteen guys and arrested everybo
Tracklisting
